Properly maintaining a clean and sanitary litter box is an important aspect of cat ownership. Traditionally, cat owners have implemented non-disposable boxes containing disposable litter to tend to their cat's waste. In these traditional litter systems, the box is filled with clean litter which either remains in the box until all of the litter (including the animal waste which has accumulated) is removed and replaced with a fresh batch of litter or in the case of scoopable litter, is scooped from the box a little at a time along with the animal waste and replaced on an as need basis. Though different varieties of cat litter exist in the market, the majority of cat litter used today is disposable but non-biodegradable. The soiled litter is typically disposed of in a trash bag or a similar container designed to prevent the dissipation of the soiled litter and any attendant smells. This non-biodegradability of the litter waste coupled with the fact that most cat litter comes from a non-renewable source means that cat litter is not environmentally friendly. Further, traditional non-biodegradable litters contain ingredients that may be dangerous to animals and humans that maintain traditional litter boxes in their homes.
Advances that have been made to the traditional litter system have primarily focused on making the process of cleaning the litter box easier, altering the shape of the litter box to better contain the cat litter, reducing the smell associated with the litter box through improved litters, ventilation, etc. For example, automated litter boxes now exist that utilize motorized components to scoop soiled litter from the box and move it to a covered container leaving clean litter in the box. Similarly, some cat boxes come with air filters designed to improve the air quality within and surrounding the box. Disposable box liners have also been implemented to reduce the amount of time required to clean the box—the liners are placed inside the box and filled with litter, when the litter is soiled, the liner and the soiled litter can be lifted from the box and disposed of and then replaced by a fresh liner and litter. While all are welcomed advancements, there remains a need in the art for an environmentally sound and completely biodegradable litter system for use by cats and other animals. Current litter box systems today simply do not provide a 100% biodegradable solution for the disposal of cat litter.
A preferred exemplary embodiment comprises a litter box that is completely biodegradable. Some exemplary embodiments comprise a litter box comprising a tray portion for holding litter wherein the tray is defined by a bottom and at least one side extending away from the bottom and further comprising a retractable lid connected to at least part of the side of the tray such that the lid may be selectively moved from a position in which it prevents access to the tray portion of the box into a position in which an animal may access the tray of the box to deposit waste in the litter. There may be a locking mechanism for holding the lid in a retracted position. For example, the tray may define at least one opening for selectively receiving a flap defined by the lid. Friction may hold the flap within the opening until it is desired that the lid be transitioned into another position. The box may comprise a false bottom positioned within the tray wherein the false bottom is adapted to hold a layer of fresh litter at a position located between the bottom of the tray and the retractable lid. The false bottom is preferably perforated meaning it defines at least one perforation (i.e. opening) wherein the perforation is preferably too small to permit passage of the fresh litter to the bottom of the tray, but large enough to permit passage of soiled litter once it has been broken down by being placed in contact with liquid animal waste. There may be a support member running between the bottom of the tray and the false bottom which supplies extra strength to the false bottom. In some exemplary embodiments a separator piece selectively positioned over the layer of fresh litter for holding the litter within the box when the box is not being used may be included. The litter box, the perforated false bottom, and the separator may all be biodegradable. Preferred exemplary embodiments include biodegradable accessories such as a scooper and at least one biodegradable waste bag. In a preferred embodiment, once an animal has utilized a biodegradable litter box to deposit waste the entire kit may be disposed of as a single, biodegradable unit.